jake's several buddies on the mat and his friends outside, we were the ones that pushed this to get this solved. >> his family kind of underestimated his second family, didn't they? >> absolutely. >> and now it's the end of the story of what happened to jake millison. his friends fought for him. and his family fought against him. in the end, it's hard to tell who won. >> that's all is edition of dateline. i'm andrea

when her sister and her 's husband disappear. aasha davis: said lesley didn't show up for work, and i just went, [gasps]. craig melvin: lesley's life had seemed perfect, but maybe that was an illusion. she mentioned going underground. yes, she did. craig melvin: had something driven her to leave town, or had something very different happened? the dog told you that a dead body had been in the back of lyle's car? correct. craig melvin: but with few clues, hollywood detectives would stage a dramatic press conference, hoping to flush out a killer. i was just floored by what was happening. [theme music] hello, and welcome to "dateline." aasha davis moved to hollywood with big dreams, and her sister lesley followed to support her. then, lesley went missing, and aasha was desperate to find her.

in a town built on deception, the police came up with a plan. it was a dramatic stunt scripted to smoke out a suspect, and the stakes were high. here's josh mankiewicz, with "a sister's search." josh mankiewicz: in the movies, and on tv, people can just disappear without a trace, leaving family and friends with nothing more than memories, questions, and worry. in real life, vanishing is more a magician's trick than an everyday occurrence. which brings us to that crossroads, where magic and entertainment collide, hollywood. the cops who roll down these streets caing can happen here. and sometimes, what does happen makes no sense. hollywood's a real place, but it's also a myth,

and the fantasy of what might be has always drawn the hopeful from every town in america with a bus station. for quite different reasons, it drew these two sisters, lesley and aasha. maybe you recognize aasha davis. she's one of those lucky few for whom that hollywood fantasy came true. within a few years of her move west, aasha's star was rising. and in 2007, she caught her big break on "friday night lights." she was cast as waverly, the sharp as a tack preacher's daughter. but just as aasha's career was taking off, a real-life drama began, one that would test her strength in a way the climb up the hollywood ladder never had. hi. i'm here to plead for help to find my sister lesley. josh mankiewicz: aasha was used to facing the cameras, but this wasn't on a set or for a publicity tour.

the scene was a news conference, where aasha begged for help from anyone who would listen. concerned for her well-being. josh mankiewicz: any sister would be frantic with worry, but aasha g sister lesley were closer than most, despite their gap in age. lulu's how much older? um, she was, uh, nine years older than me. and so she was sort of a surrogate mom when your mom wasn't around? yeah, she was almost like having another mom, because my mom was a single mom, so she worked day and night, double shifts. and lesley was in charge of us. she was a-- a mama bear. josh mankiewicz: lesley always wanted things a certain way, her way. she was definitely type a. everyone in the family knew that if lesley was in charge, everything would be just right. you know, my sister is the type that even when sh-- when we were younger, she would take me on dates with her. - i'm sure they loved that. - [laughs] i know. they're like, little sister. they're like-- but that's who she was. she made sure that we were taken care of.

josh mankiewicz: lesley never stopped feeling responsible for aasha. and so a few months after aasha moved west in late '97, lesley followed. she found herself an office job that some of us would call boring, but in it, lesley saw material for stories that kept her sister laughing. she was so charismatic and such a great storyteller. she could take a little tiny thing, like a-- you know, a tape dispenser, and create this amazing story. josh mankiewicz: the move west had been good for both sisters, especially for lesley, after she met the right guy in an unlikely place, the 99 cent store. aasha davis: by the time we were checking out, you know, he was giving her his number. and i think they went to the movies afterwards and were inseparable after that. josh mankiewicz: his name was lyle herring, and he had a good job as a recruiter at a local university. he'd grown up in los angeles, and his wooing of lesley was spent introducing her to her new city,

a courtship at warp speed. she called me one day and she said, um, do you want to be a witness in my-- at my wedding? and i was like, you're getting married? and she's like, yeah. josh mankiewicz: married less than a year after they met, lesley and lyle were clearly happy together. they seemed a pretty good match. yes. josh mankiewicz: vivian telford, lesley and aasha's mother, thought her oldest daughter had found, for her, the perfect man. lesley and lyle even dressed alike. they had the same jackets. they had the same sweaters. they had the same caps. and they were together all the time? all the time. josh mankiewicz: it was funny about lyle. after the marriage, he became closer to lesley's family than he was to his own. vivian felt it. he always told me he loved me more than he loved his own mother. and he told me that my family was better to him

than his own family. you loved him like a son? i loved him like a son. josh mankiewicz: as for lesley, she was the mama bear, first to aasha, and then, after they got together, to her husband lyle. but it was her own mother, who lived all the way across the country, to whom lesley turned for comfort. and you talked to her almost every day? every day, a quarter of 11:00, every morning on her way to work. and sometimes, in the afternoon. how old was she? 45. and she was still calling her mom every day? she called me in the morning so we could pray together. josh mankiewicz: they shared daily prayers and they shared confidences. in fact, lesley would talk to only her mother during those rare times when she was ticked off at lyle. whenever she was unhappy, if i wanted her to laugh, i would always say to her, well, what do you expect? you met him in the 99 cent store.

josh mankiewicz: soon enough, aasha was married, too, and in 2008, she and her husband jessie found out she was pregnant with a boy. lesley was so excited to have a nephew, and she was so supportive. she threw my baby shower. she was going to get to see her, you know, little sister become a mom. josh mankiewicz: the little boy named ever joined the family in january of 2009. and though aunt lesley was sick with a cold, she couldn't resist coming by to look through the window at her brand new nephew. those should have been happy times for aasha and her sister, a time of the family bonding with its newest member. but then, aasha got a phone call from lesley's boss that changed everything. he said, lesley didn't show up for work yesterday and she's not here today. and i just went, [gasps]. instantly felt wrong. josh mankiewicz: the joy of new motherhood melted away. it was tuesday, february 10th.

lesley had missed two days of work, and she hadn't called in sick. together, it was completely out of character for the always-responsible lesley. i instantly called the two people who would know where she is, and that's the one she's always with, lyle herring, and my mom, who she talks to twice a day. josh mankiewicz: aasha's mom hadn't heard from lesley, and now they realized lyle couldn't be found, either. but no one disappears without a trace, do they? remember, this is hollywood, where pretty much anything can happen. and like a special effect, lyle would briefly reappear. coming up. malcolm thomas: he got into the backseat, slides down in the seat, and pulls my suit coat over his head. he's hiding? he's hiding. craig melvin: when "dateline" continues. [coughing] copd isn't pretty.

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♪ you gotta give the people ♪ about once-daily trelegy for copd ♪ you gotta give the people ♪ ♪ you gotta give the people ♪ ♪ what they want ♪ wait till you see this. josh mankiewicz: when someone you love disappears, it's hard to know what to do. there are no drills like for fires or earthquakes, no how-to books. aasha davis had a million questions, and almost no answers. we were wondering if we had to file a missing persons for both of them.

um, we were nervous about, well, you know, what will we find in the apartment? like, what if they got robbed? josh mankiewicz: aasha's sister lesley and her husband lyle were always together during their marriage. now, they were both suddenly gone. lesley's missing and lyle's missing. yeah. did you think that wherever they were, theand her husband jessieer?ha grabbed their newborn son and headed to the herring's condo complex in the hollywood hills to see what, if anything, they could find there. jesse pforzheimer: lesley's car was there in her assigned parking spot, and that made it feel a little heavier. all of a sudden you're like, uh. like, her car is here, and she's not answering the phone. josh mankiewicz: they went into the building to knock on lesley and lyle's front door. aasha wondered if lesley, who suffered from migraines, might be sick inside. but their knocking got no response. they waited and they waited. they returned to the garage, where they saw a man parking

in the spot next to lesley's. jesse pforzheimer: we both said, hey, have you seen the woman who owns this car? he's like, oh, i haven't seen her, but i-- i saw her husband yesterday. josh mankiewicz: that was strange, so aasha and jesse waited in their car by the front gate. because if that neighbor was right, maybe they'd find lyle when he came home from work. and i remember a few cars coming in. like, oh, no, no, no. and then all of a sudden, a car that matched his description came in. josh mankiewicz: but then the car turned away from lyle and lesley's building. and we said, oh, i-- i guess it's-- it's not him, um-- because it went in a different direction? because it-- yeah, it didn't-- right. that's what we thought. josh mankiewicz: aasha and jessie probably would have waited all night, but they had a new baby with them, so they headed home. it wasn't the last time aasha would have to balance being a sister and being a parent. while all this was going on, you had a brand new baby. so i'm guessing you weren't sleeping a whole lot anyway. i'm thinking maybe this made it just about impossible.

i did not sleep at all. it was like a-- such a amalgamation of, you know, sadness and fear and love and excitement for this baby. it was-- what kept us going was him. josh mankiewicz: a new life is always a reason for hope. but the situation with lesley and lyle both missing was leaving the family feeling hopeless. so they called the lapd. aasha and jessie couldn't get into the herring condo, but police could. officers went inside and found nothing that looked unusual. they also found no lyle and no lesley. aasha worked the phones. friends and relatives knew nothing. then she reached lyle's boss, who said he hadn't heard from lesley, but he thought he'd seen lyle on tuesday, which was the day after lesley missed work. no less confused, aasha decided it was time to file

that missing persons report. aasha davis: we went to the police station and we gave them, you know, a picture of lesley, um-- and the guy said, thank you. and he put her, you know, her picture on a pile. and i mean, in california, i'm sure-- i don't know how many people go missing, especially in hollywood, a day. josh mankiewicz: a lot of people come to hollywood from somewhere else, but their dreams of making it big here don't always work out. they can lose touch with their families. then suddenly, the folks back home are calling the cops, thinking they're missing, when really they're just lost in the meat grinder that is hollywood. aasha desperately needed something that would make lesley's case stand out. we went back to the car and we thought, i don't-- i don't know where to go from here, you know? and the phone rang. and it was, um, malcolm thomas. malcolm thomas is lyle herring's cousin.

he wanted to talk about a very distraught lyle, whom he'd also seen in the days after lesley missed work. malcolm told aasha that lyle seemed almost suicidal. did he mentioned lesley at all? he said, don't bring up her name anymore. he doesn't want to hear about her anymore. did you get the feeling it was because they'd had a fight or they were splitting up or she'd dumped him? i thought maybe there was a disagreement. um, people do have disagreements. people split up for short periods of time and get back together. and i said, well, maybe she's upset over something. josh mankiewicz: lyle asked malcolm to drive with him to his condo complex. lyle led the way in his suv. you're following lyle to his house. yes, i am. but he doesn't go straight to his house, does he? no. as soon as we pulled into the driveway, he made a sharp left turn. and that was different.

away from his home? away from his home. josh mankiewicz: they ended up in a remote garage underneath the condo complex. malcolm tucker: he opens up my back passenger side door. he got into the back seat, closes the door, slides down in the seat of the car, and pulls my suit coat over his head. he's hiding? he's hiding. and i said, man, don't do that in my car. i said, what's going on? he said there are some people at the end of the driveway that he doesn't want to see or have them see us. josh mankiewicz: some people near the end of the driveway? as she listened to malcolm's story, aasha suddenly realized. that's you? it was us. and so we ran back into the police station, took the baby out, back out the seat, went back in, and we said, you know, we just talked to, um, my sisters husband's cousin. and he had, you know, a really, um, a really

frantic interaction with him. the, you know, policeman said, wait a second. i'm going to get you guys a detective. josh mankiewicz: the next person aasha met was detective chris gable. missing persons cases are not usually your department. chris gable: no, they're not. josh mankiewicz: but this was different? chris gable: this was different. craig melvin: coming up. inside lesley and lyle's home, a strange clue buried in a closet. and then, inside their marriage, something buried there, too. she found out about that? yes. and i'm guessing was pretty furious? she was furious. craig melvin: when "dateline" continues. let's review. okay. we're not gonna talk about traffic or weather. if anyone brings up lawn care, i will handle it. hosting can be extremely difficult for young homeowners turning into their parents. oh, are you done with this? i'll just take that. okay, he's still drinking. right. oh, look what the cat dr-- no, no. let's try again, if you wouldn't mind.

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or become one. wait, can i do both? you know what? let me ask my mentor. of course, you can. bring someone along on your journey. and see where it takes you. josh mankiewicz: wednesday, february 11th, 2009. detective chris gable was working the homicide table that night at the lapd's hollywood station when the officer from the front desk walked aasha, jesse, and their baby back to detectives. we went back to the detectives and we explained everything about lesley and about how worried we were. we didn't know what was going on. josh mankiewicz: lyle and lesley were both missing and unreachable. maybe they were together. maybe they weren't. maybe they were safe. and maybe they weren't. chris gable: my instincts are that there's something suspicious going on. i still don't know what it is. they could have both taken off. i don't know these people, you know?

they live a pretty isolated lifestyle. but from the-- the things that i've found so far, it seems suspicious. josh mankiewicz: gable checked hospitals, coroner's offices, and the highway patrol, and came up with exactly nothing. he put out a bolo, be on the lookout for, asking police throughout southern california to look for lesley and lyle herring. and he brought cousin malcolm in to hear firsthand about lyle's strange behavior. most of the family was telling you that the relationship between lyle and lesley is terrific. yeah. malcolm is the only one who sends up some sort of red flag. based on his conversations with lyle that previous days after she was missing, yes. josh mankiewicz: whatever had happened was beginning to feel like foul play. gable knew he had to move fast. and so at 3:00 am, some 11 hours after first meeting aasha, gable and his partner vicki bynum were in the herring

condo, search warrant in hand. the apartment didn't appear to be a place where a murder had just been committed? it didn't, but the apartment was real telling to me about the two people that lived there. we didn't know much about them, but it was almost like an apartment divided. the part of the apartment that was lesley's, for example, was very orderly and put together. then there was a room that was lyle's, and it was just like a tornado had been through it. josh mankiewicz: but still, no sign of a struggle? no. no blood? no visible blood. the only thing that caught my attention that night was there was a large amount of towels hanging i just made note of it, but i thought there was some sort of a flood or something that they sopped up. josh mankiewicz: inside the apartment, he also saw spilled candle wax. if the ocd-intensive lesley had seen that, she'd have cleaned it up right away. so did it happen after she left? and gable and bynum found something else, a receipt from starbucks dated february 9th at 9:17 pm.

that was the first day lesley missed work. where did you find that receipt? that receipt was found inside of a purse, inside of lesley's purse, inside of her, uh, closet. so presumably it was lesley who went to starbucks? exactly. josh mankiewicz: it was 6:00 am when they finished collecting their evidence, and night turned to day in hollywood. and what had dawned on these detectives was that this may not have been the happy home of a happy couple. a visit with aasha and lesley's mother vivian gave them a glimpse behind the bright picture lesley had always painted. that weekend, they were feuding. lyle cooked some food, and he puts a certain spice in the food. and when she asked them what spice he had in the food, he couldn't tell her. josh mankiewicz: vivian knew that certain spices triggered lesley's debilitating migraines,

but vivian also knew-- and was the only one who did know-- that this fight over spices was just a symptom of so much that was going wrong between mr. and mrs. lyle herring. things have not been good between your daughter and lyle? no, they had financial problems. josh mankiewicz: to say these were financial problems is to understate what had been happening. vivian said lesley had told her that lyle needed cash badly, so badly that he had committed identity theft against his own wife. he forged her signature and he took money from her credit cards. and she found out about that? yes. and i'm guessing was pretty furious? she was furious. josh mankiewicz: it turned out that for months lesley had been telling her mother she was nearing the end of her rope. vivian cautioned lesley not to tell lyle she was thinking of leaving him. vivian telford: i said, if you want to leave, you cannot let

him know what your plans are. just leave. so don't tell him in advance? no. don't leave a note? no. josh mankiewicz: was this mother just trying to hold on to anything that might mean her missing daughter was still alive? or did she know more than she was saying? craig melvin: coming up, a new clue pushes the investigation into high gear. josh mankiewicz: i'm guessing you watched that video several times? oh, yeah. craig melvin: when "dateline" continues. inez, let me ask you, you're using head & shoulders, right? only when i see flakes. then i switch back to my regular shampoo. you should use it every wash, otherwise the flakes will come back. he's right, you know. is that tiny troy? the ingredients in head & shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp... but good news, there's no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here. i love tiny troy.

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hi, i'm richard lui with a news update. barrages that israel destroying houses in a neighborhood near tel aviv after saturday idf strike that killed 29 people in beirut. authorities in united arab emirates arresting three in

connection with the murder of a rabbi whose an israeli citizen. benjamin netanyahu calling the killing an anti-semitic terrorist attack and israel will deal with the criminals responsible. for now, back to dateline. left investigators with more questions than answers. there were no signs of a struggle, but detectives did find some suspicious items, including a starbucks receipt in lesley's purse, which would soon lead them to a telling clue. once again, here's josh mankiewicz with "a sister's search." josh mankiewicz: no one seemed to know where lesley herring was. her husband lyle had been seen, but wasn't returning anyone's calls, not even those from the lapd. had lesley simply left her husband without a word to anyone? it seemed unlikely, but then, her sister aasha

was still in the process of learning about lesley's marriage, how bad it really was, how unhappy lesley was, things lesley was apparently telling only their mother. the thing about my sister is i think she really wanted people to believe that she had it all together. so she would-- wouldn't tell us about the problems that she was having with lyle. she'd always taken care of you. mm-hmm. you're on tv-- mm-hmm. --and doing great, and maybe she thought, you know what? i'm not-- i'm not going to break aasha's concentration for a minute. oh, definitely. it-- yeah, out of protection, a little bit of pride. josh mankiewicz: so perhaps lesley was still alive somewhere and just keeping her head down. it's what vivian was hoping. vivian telford: i believed that lesley would come home. i went to sleep every night and imagined i could hear the door bell ring. i could imagine that there were knocks on the door.

i imagined the phone would ring. josh mankiewicz: she believed it because vivian knew something aasha didn't know, something vivian didn't tell the detectives right away, thatabout some people whoenly r could help her just vanish, an underground. she mentioned going underground? yes, she did. did she seem serious about going underground? yes. she wanted to leave. josh mankiewicz: as much as he knew her family wanted to believe that, detective chris gable knew it didn't make sense. chris gable: you would bring something. she had a lot of cash left behind. she would certainly have her migraine medication. it-- for all intents and purposes, from what we can tell, there was nothing. she took nothing with her. josh mankiewicz: and one week after lesley was a no-show at work, their investigation changed course. remember that starbucks receipt police found in lesley's handbag? gable and his partner vicki bynum

got their first look at the security video from starbucks showing the cash register at the exact time the purchase was made. i'm guessing you watched that video several times? oh, yeah. josh mankiewicz: it's pretty clear video, and it's pretty clear that it isn't lesley. vicki bynum: and lo and behold, it's lyle herring. lyle herring, by himself, no wife, with his long dreadlock hair. and he purchases, um, a single item. he didn't buy another cup for somebody who might be waiting outside? no, and-- and you know, we're looking for that, obviously. you thinking you were meant to find it in lesley's purse? i suspected so. and as the investigation moved forward, i knew that's-- we were expected to find it there. josh mankiewicz: three more days passed, an instant in hollywood, an eternity for aasha and her family. and then the bolo got a hit. lyle herring had been stopped at the mexican border,

not fleeing, but returning to the united states. the detectives dropped everything and headed south. you don't want to wait till the next day? oh, no. our spidey senses were up, uh, thinking that something could be awry. we didn't know, so we needed to get down there and talk to him. i'm chris gable. we're finally meeting. and we needed to find out if lesley was with him. if not, where is she? and what does he know? josh mankiewicz: finally, the detectives heard a story from lyle that explained just about everything. he confirmed what his mother-in-law had told the cops, that he and lesley had been fighting that weekend. they'd been fighting a lot, but this time, he said, was different. lesley had apparently had about enough of him. and lyle said that when he woke up in their apartment that sunday morning, lesley was gone. the detectives were surprised to hear all this

from a closely-cropped lyle herring, a man who'd been known for years for his long dreadlocks. lyle explained to the detectives that he owed money to some gang members, and that when he couldn't pay them back, they held him down and cut off his hair. you used to work the gang unit? yes. have you ever heard of a gang holding someone down and giving them a haircut as a way of getting money that they wanted? not only have i not heard of that, but, uh, the shave was a little added, uh, touch that i'd never heard. um, a little hard to keep a straight face when i heard that. josh mankiewicz: lyle said that before she dumped him, he and lesley had planned a valentine's vacation in mexico, and that he'd gone there to look for her a week after she had disappeared.

but lyle had come up empty. then, gable asked lyle if, during his search, he had tried to phone or email his wife. listen to lyle's answer. he volunteered, check my cell phone record? yes. did you think, he wants me to see his cell phone records, the same way he wanted me to see that starbucks receipt? yes. josh mankiewicz: suspicious? yes, but proof of a crime? not even close. lyle herring was not under arrest for anything. but gable was able to seize lyle's suv.

he then brought in indiana bones from the la county coroner's office, a german shepherd trained to sniff out the scent of human decomposition. they sent the dog through lyle's suv and also through a classic cadillac he owned. in both vehicles, she stopped in her tracks and alerted. the dog told you that at one time, a dead body had been in the back of lyle's car? correct. that's when you know lesley's dead? yes. now i know she's dead. josh mankiewicz: gable did not share that with lesley's family, because he wasn't close to closing this case. there was still so much he didn't have, a crime scene, a witness, or the one thing most homicide investigations begin with, a body. had you ever done a murder case in which you didn't have a dead body? no. this is the first one. you'd never done that before? no, i never have. josh mankiewicz: the herring case wasn't going to be easy.

so detective gable decided he needed a little help from the media. he held a press conference, but this would be a press conference unlike any you've ever seen. it would be pure theater, worthy of hollywood. everyone would be there, detectives, family, even the prime suspect. craig melvin: coming up, lesley's husband center stage in a command performance. chris gable: he didn't want to speak. i'd like to introduce lyle herring. craig melvin: when "dateline" continues. this charmin ultra soft smooth tear has wavy edges. it's no ordinary square. charmin ultra soft smooth tear has wavy perforations that tear so much better, with more cushiony softness. enjoy the go, with charmin.

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josh mankiewicz: lesley herring was still missing. she hadn't turned up dead or alive. now detectives turned to lesley's family with a request, and it wasn't an easy one. you and your mom all gave police a dna sample? mm-hmm. now, you know that when police get to that point-- yeah. --they're probably looking for a live person anymore? that was, um-- hard to do? yeah. it's like you end up talking and-- and dealing with all these morbid things, talking about finding bodies, and you know, where is she? what kind of ending that she have? josh mankiewicz: those were questions detective gable had, too, questions

he wasn't close to answering. so 44 days after lesley went missing, the lapd held what started as a press conference and ended as something quite different. i thank you all for being here this morning. josh mankiewicz: gable hoped that getting lesley's story in the news might jog someone's memory in a way that would roll the investigation forward. aasha and her entire family were there, and so was lyle. did you think he was going to speak at the press conference? he didn't want to speak. i'd like to introduce, uh, lyle herring, the husband of lesley, at this time. our captain just went ahead and said, the next person to speak is lyle herring, and i think he had no choice at that point. if lesley is out there listening to us, please, give us a call. come home. let us know what's going on. josh mankiewicz: then it was aasha's turn. it's very unusual for her not to be in touch with her family. she is a creature of habit, and, um,

this is why her disappearance is so alarming to us. josh mankiewicz: for aasha the actress, this day played out more strangely than any script she had ever followed. the press conference was really difficult because it was the first time i was going to see lyle since it happened. how did you not run up to him and start shaking him? to me, approach everything with love. i didn't think shaking him was going to get an answer. i-- you know, i-- i hugged him like i always do when i see him. - but that didn't-- - but i-- --work either? no. she did not run away. josh mankiewicz: unlike his sister, aasha and lesley's brother lindon did not approach lyle with love. and i would like you, lyle, to tell me what's going on here, because we came a long way to know what's going on. this is-- this is killing our family. josh mankiewicz: through it all stood lyle herring, either a husband worried about his wife, or a killer worried about being caught. i'm the lead investigator for this case. josh mankiewicz: when detective gable began to speak,

a reporter asked if lyle was being helpful in the search for his missing wife. reporter: has he been cooperative? i would describe his cooperation as fragmented and less than helpful. at one point, reporters asked detective gable, is lyle cooperating? and with lyle standing right there, detective gable says-- no. --not really. [strained chuckle] i was, you know, just floored by what was happening. josh mankiewicz: and gable wasn't done laying out the inconsistencies in lyle's story to an audience of eager listeners that included lyle. he left the condominium on tuesday, the following tuesday, uh, and went down to san diego, uh, to apply for jobs to some colleges down there. um, following that, he went down to mexico for a day. josh mankiewicz: then reporters turned on lyle. reporter: they said you're less than cooperative? i mean those are some rather charged statements.

josh mankiewicz: lyle told gable he did not want to answer. and lyle took it. let me clarify one thing. so we will be taking things out of context, ok? i had an opportunity to, uh, take a trip-- uh, we've had an opportunity to take a trip to, uh, uh, mexico, rosarito, to celebrate for valentine's day. i went down here to look for her, went-- looked for all the places that i thought she would be. ok? that's one of the places that we had planned to go, ok? so for you to-- for detective gable to take it out of context, just throw it out there, arbitrarily, well, he went to mexico. yes, to look for my wife. josh mankiewicz: but gable had never believed that lyle went to mexico to look for lesley. it's obvious he's lying, and i can see he's lying. josh mankiewicz: seeing through lyle's lies was one thing, but what gable really needed was a break. i-- i kind of get the feeling that what you were hoping for with the press conference was not somebody who had seen lesley alive,

but maybe somebody who had seen lyle in the process of moving yes, that's what i was hoping for. somebody maybe you hadn't talked to before. correct. and it paid off. it paid off immediately. thank you very much for coming down. craig melvin: coming up, what a new witness claims he saw, a stunning revelation. you think that was lesley? absolutely. craig melvin: when "dateline" continues. (♪♪) when you have moderate to severe eczema, it's okay to show off. with dupixent, show off your clearer skin and less itch. because you have plenty of reasons to show off your skin. with dupixent, the number one prescribed biologic by dermatologists and allergists, you can stay ahead of your eczema. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema to help heal your skin from within. many adults saw 90% clearer skin.

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all her friends are going to gather. head to your neighborhood grocery outlet today we're going to-- to get quiet and think about her as hard as we can. it's all about her today. josh mankiewicz: in the weeks after that surreal press conference, aasha davis continued getting the word out about her sister lesley herring. she was amazing. josh mankiewicz: lyle herring continued to play the part of the grieving husband. inside hollywood station, detectives gable and bynum and were continuing to put the case together against lyle, one with no dna, no blood, and still no body. but there was evidence that came in tiny, little pieces. they'd found an undated dear john-type letter that lesley had written to lyle, saying she was leaving him, that she was broken.

and detectives finally got those cell phone records that lyle was so eager for them to see. chris gable: here we have february 7th, and this is their condominium right here. mm-hmm. here is the cell site tower. josh mankiewicz: it turns out lyle did call lesley after the time he said she'd run off. but the records had more details than lyle expected. there was activity between both phones. that part is true. but? but the problem was, um, where the phones were located. um, based off the cell towers, we were able to show that the phones were in the same location. suggesting that, what? lyle was holding his phone in one hand and dialing lesley's phone, which was in his other hand? exactly. josh mankiewicz: and then came the lead spawned by that press conference. thank you very much for coming down. josh mankiewicz: a neighbor from the condo complex had seen lyle herring getting into the elevator at around 12:30 am sunday on that weekend that lesley disappeared. lyle was moving what looked like a big, rolled-up carpet.

how-- like, the diameter, would you say, if you were to-- it was pretty thick. was it like a-- no, it was round, like round enough for a body to be inside it. you think that was lesley inside that carpet? absolutely. josh mankiewicz: it would take more than a year, but in april 2010, lyle herring was finally arrested and charged with the murder of his wife lesley. it would take three more years to get to trial. over the next few weeks, my colleague here and i are going to present to you the layered web of evidence that caught him, put him in this courtroom, and proves beyond a reasonable doubt that that man, that calculating husband, that killer, is the defendant, lyle herring. josh mankiewicz: what do you think happened? i learned throughout the investigation that one of the things that lyle does

when they're having arguments is that he washes lesley's hair. as a way of, what? getting back into her good graces. josh mankiewicz: gable believes the herring's bathtub was the real crime scene. and i believe that they were talking about the letter that he had already received. and she was likely adamant that she was leaving. he was going to have no part of that. and i think he just pushed her under. and drowned her right there-- drowned her right there. josh mankiewicz: --in her own bathtub? remember all those towels gable saw? he believes lyle used them to mop up the bathroom. then, he wrapped up lesley, put her on the dolly, and had the bad luck to run into a neighbor in the elevator that night. the defense said none of that happened, that lyle was not guilty, because lesley wasn't murdered. she's not even dead. i don't want you to expect or hold me to any promise that there's going to be some perry mason moment,

and lesley is going to walk through the door and just, say here i am. but i will tell you at the conclusion of this trial, there will be more than sufficient evidence to believe that she, in fact, could. i wish they were right. let me say that. you know, i would love to be hugging my sister, and i-- i wish that were true, but i know who she is, and i know she's not alive. we are on the record on the matter-- josh mankiewicz: after a 3 and 1/2 week trial, a jury agreed with aasha. we, the jury, in the above entitled action, find the defendant, lyle stanford herring, sr., guilty of the crime of murder. josh mankiewicz: june 2013, lyle herring was sentenced to 15 years to life for murder in the second degree. it's not quite the end, because lyle is holding onto one last secret from a marriage that apparently had a lot of them. he's never told anyone where lesley's body is. lyle is probably going to see this program. i know.

anything you want to say to him? yes. we pray that you will tell us where lesley is so we could have closure, you know, alive. we know that you know exactly where she is. josh mankiewicz: through her pain and loss, aasha is trying to find a lesson. it's so important to me that women, or anyone who's fearful, um, about what other people are going to think about the way they're living their life-- it's hard to not live up to what we think is success, but it's so much more important that you share even your sadness with people. you wish lesley had talked to you? aasha davis: i really, really wish she had. yeah, i do. i think-- i don't think i'd be here right now. scene 17-19a, take 1. mark. josh mankiewicz: but aasha also had an opportunity to bring some laughter back into this family. hi, i'm racey. she starred in a web series called "the unwritten rules," a comedy about a black woman working

one of those definitely dull jobs in a mostly white office. the little oil that i do have. josh mankiewicz: it was a little bit like lesley's life. and i read those scripts, and i just-- i-- i felt lesley. i felt her in my heart. i felt-- i laughed again, the way she used to make me laugh. woman: oh, it feels so soft and real. josh mankiewicz: and so one sister paid homage to another. it won't bring lesley back, but it makes her loss a little less painful. in this hollywood story, it's the only happy ending that's available. craig melvin: that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. [theme music]